WHEN THE WORLD TURNS UPSIDE DOWN

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 ESV
Read Also: Proverbs 16:9; Isaiah 55:6-13
Fifteen years ago today, my world was turned upside down in a single day. That’s because fifteen years ago today, I left everything, and everyone, I had ever known in urban Colorado, and moved to rural Kansas.
I knew nothing about the area, except that it was, at the time, the last place on earth I thought I wanted to be. I did not know anyone. All of my family and friends were 400 miles or more away. At a tender 22 years of age, I may as well have moved to a foreign country. That’s how out of place I felt when I moved to the state I now call home.
I did not know what God was doing with my life then. To be honest, as I look back, I spent a lot of time in the wilderness wandering, and I definitely messed a lot of things up along the way. But I can also reflect on the last decade and a half and know that even when I did not know what God was doing, He did. Because a place I did not want to be back then is a life and a home I would not trade for the world now.
But as I sit here now, with all that has transpired in the last several days, weeks, and months, and I have a deep sense that our family’s life is on the verge of another seismic shift. A lot of significant things have happened, some of which I have already written about, that cause the feeling in me that God is in the process of another major work in our lives.
My soul is stirred with both the apprehension of the unknown, and the unbridled anticipation of a new adventure. I know the Lord is moving mightily, though I cannot say for sure where. It’s a feeling that used to terrify me, as it did fifteen years ago. And though I still battle twinges of that now, I find in my soul a much stronger hopeful assurance that even when I do not know where the winds of change will blow, I can place my trust in a God who does.
The last fifteen years has been filled with countless demonstrations of God’s faithfulness to His promises in my life. In my darkest hours, He has always provided. When I felt trapped by circumstances, He has always opened the right doors at the right times. Whenever I have felt hopeless and alone, He’s always poured love into my life in abundance.
As a kid out of college, I thought coming to Kansas was a step into a barren wilderness. But I know now it was all a part of God’s amazing plan.
Do not fear when your world turns upside down and you step into the unknown. The Lord who shaped time itself still loves you, and He always has a magnificent plan!

Prayer: Thank you that You always know where the road is leading, even when I don’t. Help me to continue to move forward without fear, knowing that you have prepared the way before me.

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